Shadow of the Hero
by Blackheartxg
Summary: As someone is heading to the forest under the protection of the Moro Wolf Tribe, he is encountered by San after a misfortunate bear attack. but what happens when he reveals that he is Ashitaka's brother and knew Kahn, who turned  into a demon.


**(So this is my first Fanfic and some reviews would be nice, both helpful and flame. This story takes place a month after "moviefan92"'s PM story ends. Hope you all like it so enjoy. By the way, this story includes a new character which is the main one and a new curse. Read to find out. :D )**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Princess Mononoke or Moviefan92's characters.**

Shadow of the Hero

The cave bear fell, dead, a knife sticking out of its head. I laid there, propped up against the rock wall, blood trickling down my raked chest, clawed by the bear. My bow lay broken by the cave entrance along with my sword. The cave bear had taken me by surprise, attacking as soon as I threw my torch in the cave to see if it was empty. My only defense was my bow at the moment, and I raised it up to guard my head. The bear swiped at me with its massive paw and broke through my block, clawing my chest and leaving my bow broken I stumbled backwards and fell on my back, pain erupting from my wound. I barely had time to roll over as the bear came crashing down next to me. I recovered, unsheathed my katana **(custom made with the blade 4" long)**, and slashed the bear's right shoulder all in one fluid motion, but to have little effect. It just shrugged off the blow and seemed even more pissed off. The bear charged and swiped again, sending my sword to the edge of the cliff and me tumbling into the cave. I hit the wall, dazed, and drew my knife. As the bear charged again, I shut my eyes tightly, prayed a silent prayer, and threw the knife.

And now, as I laid there bleeding to death, the bear only three feet away, and my vision failing, I see a hooded figure, cloaked in different pelts and wearing a white and red mask, cautiously walking towards me. _Great_, I thought, _now I'm being robbed by a pickpocket_. But instead, the figure pulled out a knife. I suddenly realized he wants to make sure I'm dead before making off with the loot. _Shi I'm fading_, I thought to myself. As I began to lose consciousness, I muttered "Ashitaka, I'm…..sorry….."

The dagger made a clanging sound as it hit the floor.

XXXXX

I awoke to the sound of the forest. As the memory of yesterday, or maybe even a few days ago, flooded back into my head, a sudden wave of pain came from the wounds. I grunted, clutching my chest only to find damp (but not soaking) bandages under my ripped black tunic. I looked down on my body to confirm what I was feeling under my hand. I peeked under the bandages to see my already healing slashes across my chest. I glanced around, but froze as I heard a low growl. I slowly turned my head only to come face to face with a large, snow white wolf, teeth bared into a snarl. The look in its eye told me that it was hungry. _So why is it waiting? I'm obviously defenseless_, I thought. Then I saw why. Sitting on top of the wolf like a rider was the cloaked figure. A second wolf was about a foot or two behind the first. The figure dismounted and removed his mask. My jaw dropped. I mean, _she_ removed her mask.

"Your…Beautiful," I said, astonished. I received a blow to the head from her boot, but that didn't make me forget what I saw.

"Only one human may say that to me, ever," she said. "The one whose name you spoke of before losing consciousness." She glared at me with eyes that seemed to pierce my soul. Two triangles seemed burned onto her cheeks under her eyes, fitting the description in the letter from my brother.

I summoned my strength. "You must be…San," I said, struggling to speak. She blinked, stunned. I pulled the letter from inside my tunic, luckily undamaged from the bear's claws, and weakly held it up for her to grab. Brimming with impatience, she snatched the folded paper. But soon after peering at it, her face became puzzled, then frustrated.

"Would you like me to read it for you…San?" I asked, hesitating to say her name

"Who says I need someone to read it for me, human?" She put extra emphasis on _human_.

"I can see it on your face," I chuckled painfully, offering my hand up to her. Reluctantly, she gave the letter back. The two wolves behind her had bemused looks on their faces.

I read aloud: "_Lindow, it has been too long since we have last seen each other. It has only been four years but it seems like an eternity. But I have finally found the one I love. It would mean much to me if you can see us in the forest guarded by the Moro Wolf Tribe. Look for the one named San. You will know it is her by her appearance. Deep blue eyes that pierce the soul, husky brown hair that comes just below the shoulders and held by a band, two dagger like marks below the eyes, and a wild and free personality. Her body is lean but muscular from life in the wild and is covered by a large pelt cloak. Her brothers Isamu and Kenji are usually with her. By the way, her brothers are large wolves. Do. Not. Anger._

_Your brother_

_Ashitaka_"

San was silent the whole time. I put the letter back in my tunic. The pain from my healing chest fading, I got up, earning a growl from one of the wolves. San quieted her brother with a hand, and then spoke. "Ashitaka never told me he had a brother. Why has he not mentioned you at all?"

"Four years ago, I was an Emishi warrior, and brother to Prince Ashitaka. But an unfortunate event occurred. As I was hunting for food for my village, I stumbled across a bandit camp. Only wanting to leave and not fight, I tried to talk my way out of it. But, to my dismay, they all drew their swords and charged. I used the back of my blade to knock them out, unwanting to kill them. But one had managed to cut off the ponytail on my head. Filled with sorrow, I tried to think of a way to inform my village and prince Ashitaka of my leaving. I got the idea to attach a note to an arrow and shoot it at the watch tower. After I sent the message I headed north to a small town, where I stayed with my elk, Yakuul, and lived—"

"Yakuul? But I thought he was Ashitaka's elk! How did you have him?" she interrupted. Even the wolves seemed interested.

"Yes, Yakuul is Ashitaka's, but I had Yakuul before him. He was a gift from my father for my tenth birthday. I sent him to Ashitaka so that he may find me if he wanted. Since Yakuul was the only one that knew where I lived, he was the only way anybody from my village to reach me."

After a moment of silence, the slightly bigger wolf spoke. "He speaks the truth."

"I thank you, Forest Guardian. May I know which of you is Isamu and Kenji?" I asked.

The larger one answered first. "I am Isamu."

"And I'm Kenji," The slightly smaller one replied.

"I thank you again. Now can any of you tell me who is my brother's lucky…mate?" I asked, thinking of the correct term for the wolves.

"I am," said San, registering the shock on my face.

I felt a tinge of jealousy for my brother but quickly discarded it. "Well, I am extremely happy for both of you and hope that time will bring many blessings. And by the way, I believe my older brother is the lucky one, not you. Although he is an amazing person and very peaceful, someone I look up to still to this day. Speaking of which, where is Ashitaka now?"

"He is at our cave, watching Moro and Kahn." She answered.

I tensed when I heard the name Kahn. The mark on my left shoulder blade started to tingle. "I hope you are referring to a son and daughter," I said, trying to control my emotions.

"Of course they are! Who else would they be?" inquired Isamu.

"The Black Wolf Kahn, who is also a Forest Guardian." I replied.

"We know the Kahn you speak of," said San. "He is our father. But he turned into a demon three years ago and we had to set him to rest. Why? Have you met our father?"

"Yes, I have and I'm a very good friend of Kahn. On my travel to the northern town, I came across him. He was surrounded by hunters, top grade from what I could tell, and badly wounded. I decided to help him and after I silently dispatched the hunters by knocking them unconscious, I tried to help Kahn. It took days for him to believe I was not an enemy and even longer for him to allow me to heal him, even though he was not fond of the idea. He told me there was a war going on between the gods and the humans and advised me to stay away until the war was over. It only took a month for it to end, and when it did, I made my home near the village and lived as a farmer, young as I may be for the work. But soon news came that Kahn had become enraged and became a demon. Saddened by the news, I set out to end my friend's pain. I did encounter him but the battle did not go well. The demon Kahn had escaped and I was left with a wound and a curse mark on my shoulder. But, when Kahn had wounded me, he set a piece of his soul in it to keep the curse from killing me. That was his repayment as thanks for me saving him when we first met. But the curse is still very dangerous. You see, the curse has made me a Werewolf."

**(so how did you like it? Remember, this is my first story so don't judge too critically. Leave a review on whether I should continue or just give up. Thanks :D)**


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